This invention relates to medical instruments and particularly to a multipurpose tamponade and thrombosclerotherapy tube and the method of using same. The invention is uniquely effective for esophageal tamponade, simultaneous gastric lavage and endoscopic variceal sclerosis. While various individual elements of the invention may exist in the prior art, the unique combination of elements which comprise the invention and provide substantial advantages is nowhere disclosed in the prior art.
Among the prior art patents, U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,758 to McWhorter discloses an inflatable balloon-type catheter tube. While the McWhorter device discloses a retention balloon and an aperture adjacent its distal end, the patent does not disclose the proximal end structure of the invention, indeed the uses of the McWhorter device are quite restricted in scope. McWhorter U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,404 discloses a non-blocking irrigation catheter with drainage and irrigation lumens having means to prevent excessive fluid pressure buildup. The overall structure of the second McWhorter patent is considerably different from the present invention. The applications are similarly limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,713 to Bogoff et al discloses a catheter having a tubular body with an aperture at its forward end which is surrounded by a jacket having a fluid feed tube therein. The jacket includes a foraminous area adjacent its forward end for emission of fluid for direct treatment at the walls of a body orifice and an inflatable chamber is provided to retain a catheter in place. There is little similarity to the present invention.
Thow U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,065 discloses a percutaneous gastrointestinal tube which is surgically inserted into the patient's stomach and then threaded downward into the intestine. The gastrointestinal tube has two decompression lumens and two inflatable cuffs which appear to comprise the substance of the invention.
Finally, among the more relevant known prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,361 to Hewson discloses an apparatus for use in artificial respiration and stomach evacuation. The device includes an inflatable member in an elongated aperture portion into which fluid can be introduced or evacuated.
In summary, the present invention features a unique combination of elements which is nowhere disclosed in the prior art whether taken alone or in combination. The device has unique advantages permitting effective gastric lavage at the same time that controlled esophageal tamponade is taking place and thereby facilitating thrombosclerosis during active variceal bleeding. In simpler terms, the device prevents blood to lungs aspiration by the balloon proximal to the end of the tube, the injection site is controlled and the injection to stop bleeding stays where it is. The proximal end cap provides a suction channel which may be used to generate negative pressure within the tube. This facilitates the delivery of varices through the windows. Material can be suctioned from the tube via this suction system. Further, the injection of varices at the level of the esophagogastric junction is as easy as in the more proximal esophagus. Prolonged contact of the sclerosing agent with the wall of the varix can also be achieved.